The Flame's Bond
by Demyx-kun
Summary: Axel put his very being into his final attack not to harm Sora but to save him... and Roxas, too. But what happens when a Nobody fades away? Do they become Nothing...? Or might there be a second chance at salvation?
1. Prologue: Axel's Introspection

Heya, people. This is my first Kingdom Hearts fanfiction, and I'd like to say off the bat that it's semi Axel-centric to begin with, but will blossom into something more later. I'm not that good of a writer, so everything won't be perfect, but I hope this prologue can draw people in for now as I finish the next chapter. Happy readings! Demyx-kun (BTW I don't own Kingdom Hearts)

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My name is Axel. Commit it to memory.

Shadows... whispers of a promise; a recollection of truth.

What is a heart? What is a soul? Why am I still incomplete?

Even as I fade, from nobody to nothing, I realize how simple the answer was... With my dying breath, the flames in my hand gather and form a small charm, quite like the larger chakrams so often called within my grasp... I press it into the hand of the boy I hate, the boy I love. The love of true friendship, the hatred of my friend's supression... This boy, both one and two alike who I sacrificed my non-life for...

I fade into nothingness as the bond of flame is renewed... and I can rest, knowing that together, my friend and this boy shall stop Xemnas's dark plan, which, even supposedly without a heart; I now know to be wrong...

Is it funny for a nobody to have regrets? I killed Vexen in cold blood; not just to gain Marluxia's trust, no... But because he would have endangered Roxas's very life with his words...

I used Namine like a mere tool; not caring for her own existence. I was willing to kill her just like I killed Vexen, for only she could restore Sora's memories and thus possibly reunite Sora and Roxas.

I only gave Sora half an apology for kidnapping Kairi, never truly explaining myself or attempting to make things right. All I could offer was a name...

I still don't know what happened to Zexion, after I had the fake Riku take care of him. Zexion was always sly when it came to his plans... All I know for sure is that his presence never quite left the castle... even after the doll was destroyed by the real Riku. When I returned to the Proof of Existence to check, I found it smashed; rendered useless; both red and blue shards littering the floor. Do I regret possibly killing Zexion, or is it that he may still be out there, somewhere, still an unknown threat for Sora?

I never again saw Roxas, except for a single glimmer in Sora's eyes... But a glimmer that I saw long before I knew my friend... I wonder if Sora and Riku ever forgot that boy they knew, long ago...?

All of these regrets... It doesn't matter now... My time is over.

I lay here in darkness; the world and Sora already faded from my sight... My heart long gone, and now even the sensations of pain from my body have ceased as well. I have truly become nothing.. nothing, in all except thought. What am I now? Is this my... soul? Is this what death is like for all, or just for nobodies like myself? But I forget... I'm not a nobody any longer; I have a heart. I truly believe that. I hear myself mentally laughing; the solution was so base and childlike, so cliche, that the mere concept was lost from the grasp of world-heavy researchers like Xemnas and Vexen... I now know that one other also came to the conclusion that they could not... but Demyx too, is lost to nothingness at Sora's hand... Returned to the darkness.

And yet, even in this darkness, I can suddenly see a pinpoint of light. That light... it makes me feel like I'm with Roxas again, in those slow, lazy days in Twilight Town... In its wake I feel my regrets washed away; and I feel something stir deep inside of me... Is it hope? Happiness?

The light grows and consumes me, and I feel the last remnants of the flame within me extinguished; quenched as if by a sea of nothingness, yet it's somehow... peaceful, gentle.

I drift here, and finally my thoughts become naught...

Good luck, Sora. Good luck, Roxas. Enjoy the most you can with your new life... The life that I cannot join you in living.

My name is Axel. I think. I feel. _I am.  
_

Got it memorized?

---

Not the end yet... I've added a couple of things that may have some people wondering, but it will all play out in time, rest assured. ) I hope you can enjoy my crummy fanfiction!


	2. Chapter 1: Birth By Sleep

Hey, all. I might be ruining what may have made a nice little one-shot of Axel's final moments, but away we gooo! 

(I still don't own Kingdom Hearts)

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Chapter 1: Birth By Sleep

A lone gull squawked as it flew over the bright, shiny bay of the town of Destiny; the waves lapping the sandy shores just as they always have since time innumerable. It was a pretty nice day, but Selphie didn't feel like enjoying it... Her best friend had disappeared only days earlier. And the worst part about it, was that no one but her, the schoolteachers, and the mayor of Destiny truly seemed to be concerned.

_"She'll come back in no time, ya? She did before!" Wakka had said to her, cheerfully. "And I bet when she comes back this time, she'll have Sora too, ya?"_

_"Don't tell me you're remembering Kairi's imaginary boy too, Wakka!" Selphie had exclaimed. "I honestly don't remember anyone else there playing with us besides Kairi, me, you, Tidus, and Riku! And besides, Kairi never disappeared before!"_

_Wakka had laughed, and admitted, "Everything's still coming back to me, you know? But I know his face, and I can remember the days before he, Riku, and Kairi disappeared the first time... He beat up all three of us at once, just like Riku used to, ya? And then he went and beat Riku himself in both sparring AND a footrace! Riku couldn't have beaten himself, ya?"_

_"That still doesn't explain why you seem to think Kairi disappeared before..." At this, Wakka simply shook his head._

_"You don't remember that either, I suppose... Ah well, don't blame ya. Most of the other people in the town don't either, or they don't want to remember. But I saw the Heartless Kairi talked about, and Tidus did too. You can't say all three of us are crazy, ya?"_

Selphie's thoughts floated back to today and she bit her lip. "I don't really care if what Kairi told us was real or make-believe... I just want her back..." Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. "We could go looking for her!" she squealed, and pumped her fist into the air. It wasn't all THAT great of an idea, but it was better than nothing, right? Wakka and Tidus were sure to agree! She began running down the familiar walkway to the beach, where Tidus and Wakka were practicing their new idea for a sport... Brickball or something. She couldn't really understand why those two spent so much time perfecting it, but it had sort of split up their little group, which had been why she spent so much more time with Kairi...

---

Tidus smirked as he held the 'blitz' ball, his hair floating in strands around him. Wakka was poised defensively in front of the goal, though his own trademark hairstyle seemed frozen in place as always.

'Todays' the day I try out my new move...' he thought slyly. Wakka'd never see this coming... Then, suddenly...

Tidus dropped the ball and kicked a hard shot. Wakka blinked in disbelief as he moved foward to block it, but it hit him in the chest instead. "Oof!" the tanned boy exclaimed as he saw stars and air bubbles escaped from his mouth. The ball lost not an ounce of momentum as it spiraled back towards Tidus, who was ready, and punched it. This time, the ball hit the dazed Wakka in the face, causing him to shoot to the surface to breathe. 'Now's my chance!' the arrogant Destiny Islander thought, and leaped from the water while spiraling as the ball shot out as well towards him. He slowed down, and brought his foot down to meet it...

"TIDUS! WAKKA!"

"ARGH!" Tidus was hit square in the face with his own medicine, and painfully fell back into the sea on his back. He angrily splashed up, coughing and choking, while giving Selphie a sour look. He was planning to say something rude when Wakka spoke up first. "Haay! Selphie! What's up, ya?"

Selphie smiled, and walked out onto the nearby dock as they swam closer, and as they did, something else caught her eye and made her forget completely about her idea.

Someone was floating face down in the water nearby.

Selphie gasped, and pointed. "Oh my god! Look!" The two boys turned and quickly saw the person floating, not moving, and they quickly swam over and grabbed him, dragging him to shore. Selphie quickly followed them, and ran out onto the beach where they had laid the person.

He was a little taller than any of them, with straight, maroonish hair that flowed smoothly down to his shoulders. His body was ghostly thin, as if he'd missed several good meals, and his skin was deathly pale, as if he hadn't seen the sunlight in years. He was wearing the remnants of a severely tattered black coat, unzipped and revealing similarly tattered brown clothing underneath.

"Move aside!" Wakka demanded of Tidus and Selphie in a voice they had never heard him use before. He held his ear above the stranger's mouth, trying to listen or feel any breath. Hearing none, he checked for a pulse.

..."Nothing..." Wakka finally deemed, but a determined look came over his face. "His body's still warm... Quick, Tidus, go get some doctors, ya! Selphie, help me give him CPR!" Wakka put his hands over the person's stomach and began to pump hard as his friend ran off towards Destiny. "Come on... come on... Selphie! Hold his nose and breathe into his mouth, ya?"

Selphie gulped and looked down at the guy. He wasn't all that bad looking, but she didn't want to waste her first kiss on someone she didn't even know...

"COME ON, SELPHIE!" Wakka demanded, "It's not like you're making out with him or anything!" Selphie shook her head and leaned over, doing as Wakka had instructed. His lips didn't feel so bad anyway... He resumed pumping the guy's stomach, and together they repeated this for several minutes or so..

"Dammit.." Wakka sighed in defeat as he sat back on the sand. "Another one I couldn't help..."

"Wakka?" Selphie asked, curiously.

"Chappu. My lil' bro. He almost died from drowning... I tried to bring him back with CPR, just like now, ya? But I couldn't, and the doctors had to do some emergency pumping of his lungs. Nearly put our family in the poor house, and Chappu's been having breathing problems ever since. And with this guy, it seems like it may already be too late..."

Selphie put her hand over the stranger's chest and felt for a pulse there. ...

...Nothing... But then...

_thump_

Selphie's eyes widened. "Wakka! He still has a pulse! I felt his heart beat!"

"After all this time? No way, man..." He crawled over and felt the man's wrist. "Not a single thing, Selph. Sure you aren't imagining things."

_thump thump_

It was weak, but Selphie could feel it from the boy's chest. "No, he definitely has a pulse!"

_Thump._

_Thump._

_Thump, thump, **THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.**_

"Yow!" Selphie exclaimed as she jerked her hand back. Something had... shocked her? No, it hadn't been painful, but... just surprising. Suddenly, the boy turned his head and coughed violently. "I don't believe it!" Wakka exclaimed, "but... I can only feel a weak pulse... how did you feel it, Selphie? ...Nevermind, let's get this guy over to the hospital right away, ya?"

---

A few hours later, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie sat near the boy's bed as a doctor and nurse examined him. "Hm..." the doctor remarked as he checked various things. "Doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him physically... no permanent damage by the water. Has a nice, strong heartbeat too, and he's been getting plenty of oxygen for the last few hours... He appears to be just sleeping now. No doubts he'll wake up soon."

Just then, the mayor of Destiny entered. He was a middle-aged man with a crimson beard, round glasses, and gentle demeanor to him. "First of all, thank you again, children, for rescuing this boy... I've asked around town, and no one seems to know who he is, though..." the mayor's eyes gleamed for a moment through his glasses when he looked down at the stranger. "He rather reminds me of the boy I adopted years before Kairi came... Best not to get my hopes up, though... He'd be around the same age, but there's no way he could have lived that long by himself...?"

"Who are you talking about, sir?" Selphie asked, interested. This was the first she had heard of anyone the mayor had raised besides Kairi

"Ah, it's... not important. Are you three staying, then? I have to get back to..."

"Sir!"

One of the mayor's assistants ran in, with a seemingly hysteric look on his face.

"What is it?" the mayor asked, curious as to his assistant's behavior.

"Kairi! It's Kairi! She's back! And she has, erm... company!"

Selphie leaped out of her seat. "Kairi! Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go see her, guys!"

Wakka shook his head. "You go see her. Someone's got to look after this guy in case he wakes up, ya? Besides, I told you she'd be back, didn't I?"

Selphie hesitantly nodded and followed the mayor out of the room. The dust in the air began to settle and the noise began to fade.

Wakka was silent a moment, then turned to Tidus. "You okay, man? You've been a bit quiet today. Haven't heard a word out of you."

Tidus shrugged and reclined back in the comfy chair he was in. "I dunno... Been thinking a bit, that's all. For some reason, this guy seems REALLY familiar..."

---

_Destiny Islands. This is my home. The place I was born..._

_I open my eyes, and see that wonderful place; the island the adults let us kids build over. This is where I used to play with those guys... Sora, Riku, and occasionally that Tidus kid too..._

_I walk along the sands, hearing the familiar crunch of packed, wet dirt underneath my feet, and I let it ooze between my toes... It feels great!_

_But... Where is everyone? The island's empty!_

_Hello?_

_I walk around, looking for someone... anyone... but I find no one. Maybe they're in the secret spot..._

_I crawl down and make my way inside the hole... huh? I never had to get so low before... Am I bigger?_

_I stand up when there's enough room, and look around the small cave. The familiar drawings we made as kids litter the rock surfaces, and I smile, remembering... I look around, and I see someone, but I don't know him._

_He's mean looking... a man in a big black coat, with big, spikey red hair... he's looking at me all scary..._

_"You!" he yells at me, and I step back. Why is he yelling at me?_

_"Why am I alive...? What are you doing here? What am I doing here?"_

_"I... I don't know!" I answer, then gasp as I hear my voice; almost identical to the man's._

_The man hits his fist against the wall, and sighs, sitting down._

_"You're the son of the mayor, right?" he asks, finally._

_I nod, unsure of what this man wants with me._

_"Good... I suppose that if you're here, we're alright... Not yet whole again, but alright... I don't understand how I can still be alive though... or maybe I'm not, and I'm here in the same place you came."_

_I just stare, having no clue what he was talking about._

_The man looks up at me with his green, emotionless eyes. "You're starting to disappear..."_

_I look down at myself, and notice I could see through my own body. What was going on...?_

_He chuckles and stands up, then puts a hand on my shoulder._

_"Don't be afraid, kid. Looks like you'll be going to the next life... The life alongside them..."_

_Something strange is happening... I feel so sleep-_

---

Axel frowned as the boy faded away. "So many questions that need answering..." he mused, looking around. "Well, I'm not going to be able to figure anything out sitting here. Time to find out exactly what this fake island is." He disappeared in a pillar of billowy darkness.

---

The boy awoke suddenly, sitting up in his bed and gasping. Fleeting images from his... dream? flew through his mind, but were quickly lost... All he could remember was the appearance of the man in the black coat...

"Hey, you're awake!" Tidus yelled, causing the bed-ridden boy to jump in fear. He looked at the two islanders for a moment, then spoke.

"...Tidus." he said, an awed statement more than a question. Tidus looked at him with a mix of curiosity and bewilderment. "Y-yeah?"

Suddenly, the boy leaped out of the bed and hugged Tidus. "YEAH! It's you!"

Wakka raised an eyebrow. "You know this guy, ya?"

Tidus shrugged as he pushed the red-haired boy out of his arms. "I... I don't know. What was your name again?"

The boy crossed his arms and looked annoyed at the other. "Oh, come on! Don't tell me you forgot my name! It's Lea! L-E-A! Got it memorized?" he said, putting his finger to his temple. "We played together all the time at the island with Sora and Riku!"

"...Lea?" Tidus asked, this time with amazement in his voice. "B-but... you disappeared ten years ago... Around the night of the meteor shower..."

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Sorry for such a sucky first chapter, but I'm still getting used to this, I guess. R&R, please! Any constructive criticism appreciated!


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